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2007–08 Toronto Maple Leafs season
The 2007–08 Toronto Maple Leafs season began October 4, 2007. It is the 90th season of the franchise, 80th season as the Maple Leafs. In an effort to return to the playoffs in 2007–08, the Leafs made two significant moves during the off-season. The first, was to acquire goaltender Vesa Toskala, along with Mark Bell from the San Jose Sharks for three draft picks. Toronto also signed free agent Jason Blake to a five-year, $20 million contract. Blake topped the 40-goal mark for the first time in 2006–07. With the Leafs struggling in the Northeast Division, the future of John Ferguson Jr.'s tenure as General Manager has been widely debated after team president Richard Peddie admitted that hiring Ferguson was "a mistake". According to TSN, the Leafs asked former Toronto GM Cliff Fletcher to serve as interim GM early in January. On January 22 it was announced that Ferguson's time with the club had ended, as the board of directors at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment voted to make a change. Fletcher was named interim General Manager. Defenceman Tomas Kaberle was selected to represent the Leafs, and the Eastern Conference at the 2008 All-Star Game in Atlanta, Georgia. He hit all four targets in four shots to become the winner of the accuracy competition. Regular season On October 8, 2007, newly-acquired winger Jason Blake announced that he had chronic myelogenous leukemia, a treatable form of cancer. He continued playing during treatment. In mid-November, 2007, Jiří Tlustý was caught in a scandal when nude photos of him appeared on the Internet. Tlustý apologized for this incident and admitted he made a mistake. Divisional standings Conference standings Game log October Record: 5–5–3; Home: 3–4–2; Road: 2–1–1 November Record: 4–6–3; Home: 1–1–3; Road: 3–5–0 December Record: 6–5–2; Home: 3–2–0; Road: 3–3–2 January Record:5–8–1 ; Home: 4–2–0; Road: 1–6–1 February Record: 8–4–1 ; Home: 5–3–0 ; Road: 3–1–1 March Record: 8–5–0; Home: 2–4–0; Road: 6–1–0 April Record: 0–2–1; Home: 0–1–1; Road: 0–1–0 Playoffs On 27 March 2008, the Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated from postseason contention for the third straight season following a 4–2 loss to the Boston Bruins. Player stats Skaters Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes Goaltenders Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average Awards and records Records *On October 11, 2007, in an 8–1 victory over the New York Islanders, Mats Sundin scored his 390th goal as a Leaf, and earned his 917th point in a Leaf uniform breaking Darryl Sittler's team record as the all-time points and goals leader. Milestones Transactions The Maple Leafs have been involved in the following transactions during the 2007–08 season. Trades Free Agents | valign="top" | |} Claimed from Waivers |} Draft picks Toronto's picks at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in Columbus, Ohio. Roster See also *2007–08 NHL season *List of Toronto Maple Leafs seasons Category:Toronto Maple Leafs seasons Category:2008 in hockey Category:2007 in hockey